Warm again

The HVAC guy came today and determined that the pressure switch was stuck open. (This is the switch that senses the pressure in the flue and prevents the furnace from running if the flue is blocked.) He was able to shake it closed so that we can get heat until he can get a replacement. It's only money.

Cathy and I went up into the attic while he was here so we could look for signs of the critter(s) that make noise at night. No joy. Guess I'll have to call an exterminator after all.

And the waterbed is up to normal operating temperature!! JOY!! We're thinking about alternate mattresses to a waterbed. Any of you have real-world experience to share?

And Bush appointed what appears to be a NON-CRONY today! Running scared, maybe?

Brrrr!

Last Tuesday, Cathy had left me a note when she went to work saying that she couldn't get our furnace to start. When I got home from bowling, I checked it and -- sure enough -- I couldn't get it to turn on, either, using the thermostat. I went into the attic to see if there was anything obvious -- emrgency switch turned off, wires disconnected by the guy who installed the new blower motor blower, etc. Nada. The circuit breakers were on.

So I called the recommended outfit and made an appointment for 2-5 Thursday. They never showed. I called and they said that they had me scheduled for the 2nd week in November!! Hah! Well, they are coming out Monday, 2-5.

And on Friday, when I went in to bed, Cathy said, "I think the bed is cold!" Sure enough, the thermostat on the waterbed heater indicated about 6 degrees lower than the set point and did not indicate that the element was heating the water. This has happened before -- I "fix" it by unplugging and replugging the power. And it worked this time, but the bed temperature is not rising very quickly. Cathy wants to think about alternatives to a waterbed. Hmmmm.... In the meantime, it's sweatsuit-and-quilt-for-sleeping time. Actually it reminds me of my childhood. We lived in an apartment where the heat was turned off at around 11PM!! No tenant controls!!! However, a cold waterbed sucks the heat out of you, unlike a cold mattress. I'll pretend that I'm 11 years old and see if that helps.

Steve had a surprise party for Phyllis tonight to celebate 20 years of their relationship. It was at an Italian restaurant in Astoria, Queens, NY. The place was highly recommended but the way they dealt with a party of 20 was to serve platters of stuff rather than let us order. The food was just OK. Drove by Yankee Stadium and realized that I had never seen it before, and marked the moment with a resounding Bronx cheer! In Astoria, we turned onto a street that was right out of the movie "The French Connection", a 1971 movie that featured a great car chase under the El somewhere in NY. I wasn't about to emulate Popeye Doyle so refrained from punching the throttle in the rain and traffic. I think that was a good decision.

What a jerk!

The National Basketball Association "has announced that a dress code will go into effect at the start of the season. Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business. They can't wear visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes."

OK, doesn't sound unreasonable. Most of them look like gangsters rather than professionals. And they sound that way, too!


"Philadelphia's Allen Iverson also was critical of the new rule, which the NBA made teams aware of in a memo Monday.


"'I feel like if they want us to dress a certain way, they should pay for our clothes,"' he said. 'It's just tough, man, knowing that all of a sudden you have to have a dress code out of nowhere.'"

Two years ago, Philly gave him a 4-year extension worth $76,700,000.00.

Whadda weekend!

We had dinner with Steve and Phyllis Friday night (see next post) and with Debbie and Nelson Saturday night. They also had a surprise birthday present for me!



Saturday, Cathy and I went to TASK to finish the preparations for the new Program Director, the person who is going to take a big piece of Cathy's workload.

Sunday, we went to Bill & Drew's for brunch and, in the evening, to an Al Green concert. What a dynamic performer!!

I'm resting the balance of the week. ;-)

Surprised!

Cathy and I went to dinner with Steve and Phyllis last night and they surprised me with a birthday present!



It's about 14 inches square and looks like part of a traffic light -- only bigger.

Teething

The dentist said my extraction was healing nicely and then he told me how much it could cost to get a dental implant replacement! Whew!!

The picnic was rather nice. It was cool but there was no rain (the first day in four, and it's rainy today!), and the company was compatible. There were even some young folks along but only one grandkid. He and I watched the Eagles game.

I cooked hot dogs (all-beef Kosher, of course) and hamburgers (Philly-Gourmet, naturally) and there were salads and desserts galore. Some brought dips and appetizers, so there was plenty of food.

The cousins decided that I should start a Yahoo Group to make it easy to keep in touch, and while I did that last night and sent out invitations, there hasn't been much response. I wonder if there's a free mailing list website that doesn't require such a complicated signup as Yahoo.

Cathy's feeling much better! Her ear still bothers her but less today than yesterday.

And the Yankees lost. So I'm not as interested in baseball any more this season. However, it'll be fun watching what the Red Sox do with (a) the players eligible for free agency, (b) the older guys and (c) Manny Ramirez!

Sad Day

Wow! I'm really feeling the Red Sox season being ended so abruptly! And I can't even root against the Yankees tonight because they were rained out!! I give myself until tomorrow morning to get on with my life. :-) I guess I had forgotten, in the euphoria of last year, what it really means to be a Red Sox fan.

Tomorrow is the almost-annual "Family Picnic" where all kinds of people from Cathy's family gather here and eat my food and drink my booze. (Just kidding -- most of them are quite nice, but they are family, after all.) Weather forecast is that the rain will stop a couple of hours before they are due and not be too chilly. So I'll be out at the grille, doing my thing. (Actually, grilling is Cathy's thing, but for the family picnic, it's a man's job.)

No Repeat!

Red Sox were swept by the White Sox. :-( Think I'll go hide. BOO-HOO!

Cathy's health

We went to the doctor today; Cathy has a "horrible" ear infection and an upper respiratory infection to go along with her asthma! And she can barely talk. Thank goodness, she's not in any pain.

Post-season

"Major League Baseball rules stipulate that in the event of a tie, regular-season head-to-head records determine the winner when both teams are assured of a playoff spot. But if the wild-card race is affected, a playoff game would have been necessary. Once Cleveland lost to the White Sox on Saturday, eliminating the possibility of a three-way tie, the Yankees were declared winners of the AL East on the basis of a better record against the Sox (10-9 [10-8 at the time the Yankees were declared])."

While it wouldn't have made any difference in the postseason playoff scheduling -- Red Sox vs White Sox, Yankees vs. LA --, I think they should have either let them play one game for bragging rights or declared them co-champs.

Damn Yankees!

They won again and they are the AL Eastern Division champs! Darn!!

If the Sox beat them tomorrow, the Sox get to the postseason. Ditto if Cleveland loses tomorrow.

But if the Sox lose and the Indians win, there will be a playoff Monday. Shades of 1948!!

Browsers

I like Netscape 8.x except for one thing: it keeps crashing! I'm about to give up on it. I suppose I'll go back to Opera.

Hunting for Red(Sox) October

OK!! Tied for first place with the Yankees and 1 game ahead of Cleveland!! Need one more Sox win with a Cleveland loss to ensure postseason play. Of course, two wins means that we don't care what Cleveland does. :-)

But does anyone actually think the Red Sox can sweep the Yankees in a critical series? ;-)